Saturday, June 21, 2008
Happy Solstice
It is the summer solstice today, midsummer's day, the longest day of the year. To my southern hemisphere readers is it the winter solstice, midwinter, the shortest day of the year. But I am in England and do not apologise for my northern-hemisphere-centricity.
It feels like the high point of the year, like being on a Ferris wheel when you reach the very top. The sun climbs to its highest point in the sky today. It is in the sky for longer than any other day of the year. Tonight the sun will barely dip below the horizon, and if the sky is clear you may still be able to see a pre-dawn glow at midnight.
I'm not planning any sort of celebration myself. But it's important that I know today is the solstice. It's important it doesn't just go past without being remarked. It is one of the landmarks of the year. From now on the days get shorter - the decline is slow at first and we shall have long hot days for quite a while to come. By the equinox in late September we'll be halfway to midwinter. But that is a long way off yet. Today is midsummer. I hope you have a good one.
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9 comments:
I thought that June 24th, St. John's Day, was called Midsummer Day which I always thought was odd.
I'm glad that your absence was due to work ~ I wondered if it were due to playing with your new kitten, which is also allowable, but was getting worried in case something untoward had happened.
Yes, thank you. Very much a 'balancing on the top of they year' kind of day. I hope you did, too.
First time at your blog. It's fabulous.
Brigitte
I don't know much about these things, but also thought it was on June 24th, because that's what I'd seen on the weather site for the past few days. I assumed that those who study the weather would know. http://uk.weather.com/weather/10day-Oxford-UKXX0106
From today onwards your plants will sense the shortening of the day length and you will see the changes, especially in onions that will swell.
June 21st is an approximation, since the solstice is a point in time (not a day) and it moves slightly each year, but never to the day after and definatly never to the 24th!!
See some figures at http://www.nmm.ac.uk/server/show/conWebDoc.3843
If you are referring to the title of midsummers day, well this is obviously wrong whichever day, as the centre of summer is not the solstice (for the UK). But traditionally summer solstice is referred to as midsummer (Wikipedia some mention 24th and suggests it has drifted from the true solstice due to calendar changes/mess ups).
Mention of the Rollright Stones always puts me in mind of William Horwood's 'Duncton Wood' trilogy.
I hope that doesn't sound too irreverent or offensive to those who celebrate the solstice there.
How's that kitten of yours, Mel? Can we has photoses?
Fran
I second that: MOAR PHOTOZ, pLZ! :-)
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